U.S. authorities have charged a 21-year-old man with trying to assassinate President Barack Obama after he fired shots at the White House.
Oscar Ortega-Hernandez appeared in court today in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to hear the charges against him, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
According to court filings, a witness who knew Ortega-Hernandez in Idaho, where he is from, said he 'wanted to hurt' Obama and referred to him as 'the devil' and 'the anti-Christ."
In the November 11 incident, most of the bullets hit the building's exterior but one partially cracked a window with bullet-proof glass.
Police determined that the shooting originated outside the outer security perimeter that surrounds the White House, about 750 meters away from the building itself.
Authorities later found a semi-automatic assault rifle with a large scope in an abandoned vehicle.
Obama and his family were not in Washington at the time of the shooting and no one was hurt.
Ortega-Hernandez was arrested at a hotel near Indiana, Pennsylvania. Federal prosecutors said he will be transferred to Washington "within a few days."
In 1995, a U.S. man was sentenced to 40 years in prison after opening fire on the White House with a semi-automatic rifle. He was convicted of trying to assassinate President Bill Clinton.
compiled from agency reports
